*Austin's Dream, Dreamworld*
I groaned and sat up. I didn't know where I was...It looked Twilight's house....but it was.....messy...unorganized. It was like my bedroom on a GOOD day....I went downstairs, and I saw her. Her mane was frazzled, her eyes bloodshot, and it smelled like she hasn't bathed in days..."Twilight?" Twilight looked up and grinned. "AUSTIN!! How's my favorite human?~" "I'm the only-" My sentence was cut short by Twilight laughing rather strangely. "OF COURSE, that's right!! Silly Twilight!" "Twilight, what's wrong? What have you been doing? You look terrible!!"
"I had to find out! I needed to figure out how to do it! And I finally did! I can finally make you comfortable living here!!" "Wait what?" She laughed again. "I had to! I wanted you to be happy, then I could be happy and we'd all be happy! Happy happy smiling FRIENDS!!" "I'm getting you a doctor..." I ran to the door, but I felt her magic tug on my ankle and I tripped, then she dragged me back and laughed. "No no! You can't leave! You haven't seen your surprise!!" "Twilight, you're scaring me!" Twilight didn't respond, she just laughed and her horn started to glow again. I saw her magic seize my hands and feet and pin me to the floor. I struggled to get up, but her magic was too strong.
"I mean, how could a HUMAN be comfortable in a land of PONIES? I MEAN IT'S RIDICULOUS!!" She laughed. "So I thought, what if there were more humans here? But I couldn't find a spell to get humans here! SO I'M GOING TO SETTLE FOR THE NEXT BEST THING!!" Twilight used the scraps of rope and tied my hands and feet so she could free her magic. "Twilight, let me go!!" Twilight just kept laughing and walked over to be, her horn glowing. "Twilight! You don't have to do this! I can get you help! We can get through this!" Twilight just continued her advance on me. "So, instead of bringing humans here, we're gonna make you something that'll make you plenty comfortable in a world of ponies! I can't turn HUMAN, so I'll just turn YOU into a PONY!!" I felt her horn touch my forehead and I felt sharp pain throughout my body.
My arms and legs shortened into hooves...my torso became smaller and heavier. I felt my head and neck change and I felt a horn pushing it's way out of my skin on my forehead. I screamed in pain and dropped to the floor on all fours. I was a grey unicorn with long brown mane and a tail. She just laughed. "WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA, SKETCH!!"
*Equestria, Ponyville - Twilight's House
I screamed and sat up in bed. Twilight woke up and saw me, white as a sheet. "Austin! What's wrong?!" I scampered away from her, still paranoid about my nightmare. I fell off the bed and backed into the corner, breathing heavily and shivering. "Austin, what's gotten into you?! It's me! Twilight!" I looked around. I wanted to make sure I was awake. I pinched my arm and yelped, then looked at her again. I was certainly awake...I felt my head, still scared out of my mind. Twilight came over and sat near me. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare?" I looked into her deep purple eyes, and I swear, I saw that same eerie grin stretch across her face. I just sighed and looked away, then told her everything that happened in my dream. I sighed. Twilight looked distraught. "Why would you think of me like that?" I shook my head. "No Twilight. I know you're way better than that. It was just a night terror. Nothing more." She gave me a hug and I finally felt my heart drop back down from my face. (not literally, but that's what it felt like.)
Twilight let me have some time to calm down. I went downstairs a little later, and I felt more calm. She looked at me. "Listen, this may not be the best time. Especially after that dream you had. But I've been wanting to attempt a spell...And please, hear me out before you refuse." "Twilight, you're letting me live in your house, sleep in your bed, eat your food, and even helped me calm down after a nightmare specifically about you. I owe you more than just that, so go ahead and tell me."
Twilight smiled and said, "Well...It's a spell to give humans powers like a unicorn, only without the extra appendage." I stared at her. "It won't turn me into a pony, will it?" "No no no! Of course not!" I sighed. "Well...Okay, sure." Twilight's horn glowed, and I felt my body slowly being lifted upward. "....Wait, is this gonna hurt?........Twilight?......"
Unable to hear me over the sound of her spell, I saw a strange set of glowing ribbons come up from nothing, and slowly cacoon around me. "Twilight, I'm having second thoughts...what if it hurts? or it's irreversable? or it DOES turn me into a pony?.....Twilight?!" Suddenly, I saw the cacoon slowly close up, and I felt a sharp pain across my chest and arms. I screamed, and, in a bright flash of light, the cacoon exploded and I dropped to the floor. I landed on my knees, and panted. My arms were numb, and my chest felt like my heart was going to explode at any second. But there was something more. A strange tingle....a weird tingle....the tingle of pure energy running through my veins. Twilight stood up, then looked at me. "Austin?" I looked at her, my eyes glowing pure white. She stared in disbelief. "Austin?!" Suddenly, the glow stopped. I dropped like a fly. She gasped. "AUSTIN!!" She ran over and picked me up with her magic, then took me to lay in a bed. I blacked out. Much later, I woke up in the Ponyville hospital. I looked around, I couldn't feel my arms and my head was pounding. "Careful! Don't strain yourself." It was Twilight...I turned and saw the mare sitting near my bed. "You reacted differently to the spell then I hoped, but it was still successful."
"What do you mean? You could've killed me..." She gave me a warm smile. "Would I ever do something if I knew it would kill you?" I sighed. "No." "Look at your hands." I lifted my hands to vision. Nothing on my palms or fingers...I turned my hands over. There, I saw the same symbol on both hands. It was a pencil, drawing a scribble design. There was a grey 'paint' splatter background. "What is it?" "Well, judging from the fact that it's a unique symbol to you, and it's the same symbol on either hand, I think it's your cutie mark." "But I thought you were trying to make me into a 'human who could use unicorn magic without a horn required'." "I did. The cutie mark is your 'horn'. Your magic is passed from your body through your cutie mark."
"Oh that's cool....What's a cutie mark, by the way?"
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"-....and so the doctor said you should rest. You'll be good to go soon enough." Twilight said. "So...how do I use it?" "Use what?" "My magic." "Well, I don't think you should attempt to...At least until your fully recovered." "I guess you're right..." Twilight smiled. "I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow morning, and...thanks for being a good sport. I really appreciate it." I just nodded. "It's okay, Twi." Twilight packed up her books and left. I looked at my hand, and I felt the same tingle from before pass through my arms. Magic, huh? I just hope this won't hurt...
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Finally, an hour and a half later, the doctor said I was free to leave. I just had to take it easy for a little while. I thanked him and left the hospital shortly afterwards. The 'cutie mark' glowed a little. It glowed a yellow-gold colour. I looked at it, and felt the same tingle of energy. I wanted to try it out. I saw Twilight really strain herself when giving me this, so it must take a lot of concentration for more advanced techniques, like transformation. I stared at the mark, then looked at a nearby stone. I aimed my hand at it and strained every muscle in my torso and arm. I saw the glow return, only brighter, and my hand was surrounded my the very same glow, just like Twilight's horn would when she used magic. I strained and strained, and suddenly, I saw the small rock slowly being lifted upward. I kept going, but I was running out of energy fast. I finally couldn't hold it any longer. I gasped and suddenly the glow stopped and the rock fell back to the ground. Something told me that this wasn't going to be easy to use....
I decided to pick up the rock with my hand, then pocket it. I then walked back to Twilight's house and peeked in. "Twilight?" Twilight came down from upstairs. "Oh! I was just on my way to pick you up!" "Thanks, but I got here myself. I tried out my magic. It's harder than you make it look..." Twilight gave me a sheepish smile. "Yeah, well, I am the Element of Magic representitive." I just nodded, then showed her the rock. "See? This one is the one I tried to levitate." Twilight looked it over with her own magic. "Hm...Not all that big. And certainly not heavy...Any troubles?" "I managed to lift it about 2 and a half feet." "Not bad for you first time! Believe it or not, I could hardly flip a page in a book when I was learning!"
Twilight pulled a few books from her shelf. "Here!" She gave me the books. "These books will help you learn the basics of magic. Try to take the information and convert it to fit your magic abilities." I read the books for a few hours, practicing using my magic on flipping pages, levitating the rock, and using a drinking glass without spilling it. Over the course of only 6 hours, I managed to pick up on the basics of levitation, and even Twilight's signature Teleportation Spell. Of course, she had to teach me that one herself...
I then looked at one book in particular. It had a picture of the Elements on it. I wondered what could be inside. "That's the book for me and my friends." She smiled. "It was history on the Elements of Harmony. Nothing special." "Can I read it?" "Sure, but there's not much you'll learn from a history book..." She hoofed it over to me and I spent the rest of my time reading that, cover to cover. Finally, I looked at the time and saw how late it was. "Whoa. It's late." Twilight nodded. "We should get some rest." I put the books away, cleaned up her desk, then went to bed. It felt my hands tingle once again. I just hope my magic won't keep me up at night.